


Getting Stabbed Is A Small Price To Pay

by mellojello999



Series: Mellow's Shiratorizawa Fan Week 2020 [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Florist Tendou Satori, Getting Together, I don't know anything about getting a tattoo, I'm just finding all these mistakes after I posted the fic, If you read it more than once and it looks different dont panic, M/M, Not Beta Read, One Shot, REGARDLESS OF TITLE THERE IS NO VIOLENCE OR BLOOD OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, Shiratorizawa Fan Week 2020, ShiratorizawaFanWeek2020, Tattoo Artist Ushijima Wakatoshi, Tendou is afraid of needles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25015624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellojello999/pseuds/mellojello999
Summary: Shiratorizawa Fan Week 2020“Semi. I’ve figured out what the best course of action is,” Tendou says out of the blue one day. He’s been staring at the same daffodil for the past 20 minutes while Semi is sorting flowers into buckets (by himself mind you).“And what might that be?”“I’m going to get a tattoo”---Tendou decides that the best way to get a date with a tattoo artist is to first get a tattoo. Fear of needles be damned, he was going to ask out Ushijima Wakatoshi if it was the last thing he did!
Relationships: Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Series: Mellow's Shiratorizawa Fan Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807843
Comments: 7
Kudos: 167
Collections: Shiratorizawa Fanweek 2020, UshiTen





	Getting Stabbed Is A Small Price To Pay

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer, I've never gotten a tattoo so idk how accurate this is lol. But regardless, its UshiTen time
> 
> [Shiratorizawa Fan Week 2020](https://twitter.com/stzfanweek?s=20)
> 
> Day 3: ~~Road Trip~~ | ~~Toothbrush~~ | **Flowershopt/Tattoo Parlor AU**

“There he is, watering the plant again.” Semi mused as he and Tendou worked with the flowers in the front of their shop. Tendou glanced across the street and his heart skipped a beat at what he saw. The hulking tattoo artist who had moved their business there just the other month was caring for the pineapple that Tendou had given him as a welcoming gift. He still remembered the day that he had brought it over on the grand opening of their shop.

_  
Tendou eyed the tattoos coiling around muscled arms as he held out the pot._

_“It's a pineapple. Easy to grow and take care of. Plus! People don’t usually know how they grow so your customers will think it's super cool. Not to mention that you’ll get a pineapple out of it” The man, Ushijima Wakatoshi, he was named, had taken the pot like it was something precious._

_“Thank you, I'll take good care of it” And at the sound of that voice Tendou was gone. Just imaging that voice whispering in his ear “I’ll take care of it… I’ll take care of you” made his heart speed up. He has been pining and gazing longingly at this charming prince from his flower shop across the street ever since.  
_

And it seemed to Tendou that Ushijima just got more and more charming everyday. 

“Maybe you could go chat him up, ask how the pineapple is going?” Semi suggested. Tendou hummed in thought while he trimmed some stems. 

“I don’t know… I still don’t know what he likes and you guys always say that I talk too much about things no one is interested in.”

“That doesn’t stop you from talking our ears off about the latest Jump issue,” Kawanishi said, appearing from the back room.

“Hey now, I’m saying I want to make a good impression with Wakatoshi. I don’t care if you guys get irritated with me, it's not like you can just suddenly quit your job, right? If you give your two weeks, that just gives me two weeks to tell you anything I’ve ever wanted to say and will ever want to say” Tendou says. Kawanishi rolls his eyes and reaches to place hanging plants on their hooks.

“I’ve got some good pick up lines that you could use. Short and sweet and to the point.” Yamagata suggests from where he is seated at the counter. Tendou and Semi burst out laughing and even Kawanishi cracked a grin.

“No way, your jokes are the worst and I have a feeling the punchline would go right over Wakatoshi’s head and then things will be so awkward!” 

“No! Just hear me out. You gave him a pineapple, right? Perfect. Here’s what you say.” And Yamagata gets into character, putting on his best flirty face. “If you were a plant, you’d be a fine apple” and add a wink at the end. The line hangs in the air before all three of them start laughing so hard they are crying and gasping for air. “Hey, I know that was pretty clever but you’re not supposed to laugh!”

“Never, and I mean never, change Yamagata. Please, there aren’t enough people like you in this world.” Tendou says once he’s calmed down enough to wipe the tears from his eyes. Yamagata is torn between grumbling at their reaction and being flattered by the compliment, so he decides to just tie some bows around some bouquets and ignore them altogether. 

***

“Semi. I’ve figured out what the best course of action is,” Tendou says out of the blue one day. He’s been staring at the same daffodil for the past 20 minutes while Semi is sorting flowers into buckets (by himself mind you).

“And what might that be?” 

“I’m going to get a tattoo”

Semi pauses in his movements. “Tendou. I know for a fact that you hate needles. You do realize that tattooing requires being stabbed by a needle? Multiple times?”

Tendou waves his hand in the air. “A small price to pay. Wakatoshi is a man for whom I would be willing to get stabbed a thousand times just to get a chance with him.”

“You’ve talked to him, what, twice?”

“Five times, actually. He comes by now and then to buy flowers. He says he and his apprentice use them for reference and drawing practice. Never in my life have I been more thankful to be a florist. And he only got more perfect and charming every time I saw him! Trust me, this will all pay off in the end. Getting a tattoo means multiple appointments where we are alone and he has to talk to me. Almost like a real date. It’s foolproof.”

Semi cocked his eyebrow “Except for the fact that it is not a real date. He seems like a guy who likes to keep his personal life and business life separate. If I were you, I’d just ask him out.”

Tendou narrowed his eyes hummed like he was considering what Semi said. “Hmmm Nah. I think I’m going to go with my plan”

\---

That conversation had been just over a week ago, and now Tendou was crouching near the entrance to the tattoo parlor. His appointment was soon and he had arrived early out of nerves but didn’t want to go inside yet. He also didn’t want Goshiki or Ohira, or even worse, Shirabu, to see him standing around through the many glass windows. So crouching it was. The consultation appointments so far had been great, fantastic even, so good that they made him forget that eventually, they would get to the part that he dreaded the most.

The actual tattooing.

He did say that he was willing to get stabbed thousands of times for Wakatoshi, and he stuck by that statement, but that didn’t make it any less scary…

“Tendou”

Tendou jumped “Holy shit, Wakatoshi, no need to scare me like that” Tendou had his hand over his heart, staring up at Ushijima who was standing in the doorway of the tattoo parlor. 

“You are the one crouching right in front of my business, that could also be perceived as quite scary.” He said. “Your appointment starts soon, why don’t you come inside?” And he held open the door with an expectant face. Tendou stood up and followed him in, thankful that he didn’t seem bothered by his loitering. Upon entering he came face to face with the parlor’s blond sour-faced receptionist who was giving him a stern look as usual. He was probably the one who told Ushijima that Tendou was hanging around outside, that tattletale. Tendou still gave him a big smile.

“Kenjirou, hello~,” He said as he waltzed up and leaned on the desk, which he knew irritated Shirabu. “I’m here for my appointment.” Shirabu typed on the laptop with a little too much force if you asked Tendou.

“You are checked in, just follow Ushijima-san to his booth,” He said with a curt tone.

“Thank you~” Tendou replied before slinking away to Ushijima’s booth.

Tendou braced himself and put a smile on his face before he crossed the threshold.

\---

The beginning of the session had been nice. The feeling of Ushijima’s hands on his forearm carefully applying the stencil was oddly relaxing. The design he had picked was a peony, it was the flower he had been holding in his hand when he casually approached Ushijima outside his shop for the first time. Not that he picked it because it reminded him of their first meeting. Nope, not him. Not every tattoo had to have a deep meaning, and he was a florist. A flower tattoo was long overdue.

Tendou clenched his eyes shut and waited. Any moment now, the needle was going to rapidly puncture his skin as it deposited ink and Tendou wanted his mind to be as far away from the situation as possible when it happened. The only consolation was Ushijima’s firm grip on his arm, which would remain for the whole session. That was almost like holding his hand, wasn’t it? The reassuring weight grounded him when the tattoo gun hummed to life and its buzzing felt like it was in his brain. He just had to stay calm, the tattoo wouldn't be that bad. And when it was all over it would be like he had a piece of Ushijima with him all the time. He just had to bear with it, just for an hour and a half...

But instead of the pain of the tattoo gun piercing his skin Tendou heard the noise disappear as the gun was shut off. Tendou cracked one eye open to see his flesh still in one piece and Ushijima’s hand still resting on top of his arm.

“Tendou”

both of Tendou’s eyes opened and he looked at the expression on Ushijima’s face. It was softer than he had ever seen it, and it looked like he had a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. Tendou was so captivated by this new face that he almost missed what Ushijima was saying.

“You don’t really want to get a tattoo, do you.” It was said like a statement rather than a question and Tendou knew it would be difficult to deny. But that wouldn’t stop him from at least trying.

“Pshhh what are you talking about? Of course I want to get a tattoo, why would I go through all the trouble if I wasn’t going to go through with it huh?!”

“Tendou, you are shaking and you look like you’d rather be anywhere than here.” Tendou was silent. He couldn't dispute that when he felt his arm tremble against Ushijima’s steady hand. “How about this. I’ll give you a fake tattoo with some semi-permanent ink, no needles required, and you take me out for a date this Friday”.

Tendou looked at Ushijima with wide disbelieving eyes. Did he just hear that correctly? Did Ushijima say that he would go on a date with Tendou? Did Ushijima just suggest that they go on a date this Friday? It was all so unexpected that Tendou was at a loss for words.

Ushijima chuckled at his expression. “That’s what all of this was about right? Taking me out on a date eventually? I took that pineapple you gave me as a sign of interest. And although it was nice of you to want to get a tattoo, I can tell you are terrified of needles.”

“Yea, um, yes. That is what all this is about. Now the cat’s out of the bag, I think you are super hot and I’ve wanted to ask you on a date since the day I met you.” Tendou looked off the side and nervously tapped his leg. “You must think I’m pretty pathetic though, huh? Scared to death by needles but trying to get a tattoo just to talk to you instead of starting a conversation like a normal person? I couldn’t even go through with it in the end.”

“Well. I do sympathize with you and your situation. Can I tell you a secret?” Ushijima asked, leaning closer into Tendou’s space. The proximity made Tendou's breath catch in his throat. Ushijima’s eyes were even more intense when they were this close and staring right into you. He realized that Ushijima was waiting for an answer and gave a single nod. “We have extensive photo references for flower tattoos, but I’ve been buying them from your shop anyway just so I could see you.”

Tendou had to swallow down his heart before it jumped out of his throat.

Was it getting hot in here?

Tendou opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he was able to speak. “So. Dinner this Friday then?”

“I would love to.”

“And you’re going to finish this with a temp tattoo? No needles?”

“Yes.”

Tendou rubbed his neck with his other hand sheepishly. “Could you also, maybe, not mention the needle thing to Shirabu? Just tell him, I changed my mind or something.” 

“Of course. Just give me a moment get the ink”

Tendou looked curiously at the small bottle of ink that he pulled out of a drawer. “Can’t you just print it out if we are going with a semi-permanent tattoo? Like you did with the stencil?” 

Ushijima looked at him with a fond smile on his face that made Tendou’s heart pound and his lips twitch to reciprocate. “I’d rather do it freehand. I blocked off an hour and a half today so that I could sit with you alone in my booth, so that’s what we are going to do. If that's okay with you of course.”

Tendou just smiled and settled into the chair. "You bet it is!"

**Author's Note:**

> I was debating on whether or not to make Ushijima the legendary farmer the florist, but like, i'm pretty sure he'd be better at drawing. Plus, Tattoo Ushijima sounds v nice.
> 
> Also, the semi-permanent tattoo that I was basing the last part of off is inkbox tattoos. They have these little squeeze bottles of ink that you can draw with and they stay for a while.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciated! You can find me on tumblr + twitter @mellojello999 !!!


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